Gone to Ground – Rachel Amphlett

While attending a crime scene on the outskirts of Maidstone, DI Kay Hunter makes a shocking discovery.

The victim has been brutally cut to pieces, his identity unknown.

When more body parts start turning up in the Kentish countryside, Kay realises the disturbing truth – a serial killer is at large and must be stopped at all costs.

With no motive for the murders and a killer who has gone undetected until now, Kay and her team of detectives must work fast to calm a terrified local population.

When a third victim is found, her investigation grows even more complicated.

As she begins to expose a dark underbelly to the county town, Kay and her team are pulled into a web of jealousy and intrigue that, if left unchecked, will soon claim another life.

Gone to Ground is published today! (8th July 2018). Many thanks to the author for my copy of the book and to Emma Welton at damppebbles for inviting me onto this blog tour.

Yesterday I shared my review of book 5 in this fantastic series, Call To Arms, today I’m thrilled to be on the blog tour for book 6, Gone To Ground. I was very excited when Rachel was in touch with this latest instalment and even more excited to know that there was also a blog tour being organised by the lovely Emma at damppebbles.

I can’t remember how I first came across this series, but I am so pleased that I did and have been on the journey with Kay Hunter and her team right from book 1, Scared to Death.

Kay Hunter is still Detective Inspector since her promotion but still appreciates her roots and works close with the team, refusing to use the office that is now hers, preferring to instead sit with the team and right in the middle of the action. Gone to Ground can be read as a standalone following the wrapping up of events in Call to Arms but this series is most definitely best read in order from the start to understand what the team have been through in the past.

An early Sunday morning cycle ride doesn’t go quite according in plan, when on a toilet stop in a lay by on the side of the road, a cyclist finds a severed foot! However, that is all that Kay and the team have to go on – there are no clues as to who it belongs to or how it ended up there in the first place. When further bloody parts turn up in other places, rather than helping the investigation, it hinders it further as the additional parts just bring up more questions than answers. What does come out of the gruesome findings is that they are possibly dealing with a serial killer however Kay’s gut is telling her that they have not finished and more body parts will turn up.

Alongside the investigation, Kay is also having to recruit for a new member of the team to replace the gap she has left following the promotion. None of the team feel ready to take the step up therefore Kay is facing the prospect of bringing someone new into the fold and is concerned about how this will affect the team dynamic. I enjoyed this side of the story to show that business as usual that Kay will have to also deal with now that she is the DI alongside any investigations they have going on. It also shows what a cohesive team that they are and its important to find the right person to join.

What I love about this series, is the stable life that Kay has outside of work and the fact that Adam is featured as a key character in the narratives. I’m always intrigued into which waif and stray he’s going to bring back next (he’s a vet and often brings his work home with him!) – he excels himself this time! I really love how grounded and supportive Adam is to Kay and her career.

I love this series and this book is a great addition to the overall Kay Hunter story – once again Rachel Amphlett’s writing is flawless, well thought out and gripping from start to end.

Before turning to writing, Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, dabbled in radio as a presenter and freelance producer for the BBC, and worked in publishing as a sub-editor and editorial assistant.

She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction and spy novels, including the Dan Taylor espionage novels and the Detective Kay Hunter series.

Originally from the UK and currently based in Brisbane, Australia, Rachel cites her writing influences as Michael Connelly, Lee Child, and Robert Ludlum. She’s also a huge fan of Peter James, Val McDermid, Angela Marsons, Robert Bryndza, Ken Follett, and Stuart MacBride.

She’s a member of International Thriller Writers and the Crime Writers Association, with the Italian foreign rights for her debut novel, White Gold sold to Fanucci Editore’s TIMECrime imprint, and the first four books in the Dan Taylor espionage series contracted to Germany’s Luzifer Verlag.

Her novels are available in eBook, paperback and audiobook formats from worldwide retailers including Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, and Google Play.

A keen traveller, Rachel holds both EU and Australian passports and can usually be found plotting her next trip two years in advance!